Tag Archives: enoughnc

I’ve been outraged more times than I can count since this all started. The first video of this woman being dragged like a carcass out of that elevator. Not one but TWO men standing over her, neither with the slightest care about her well-being. The sham press conference with the victim essentially taking responsibility for the crime against her. You know the rest.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Let’s get something straight. Don’t show the knockout video. Every single organization that’s still showing it is part of the domestic violence problem. Every time that’s shown, that woman is victimized again and again. Just have some guts and STOP.

Now, one of the gifts of working in television is the ability to take on an issue and make a difference. A team of co-workers from WRAL and FOX 50 gathered around a table to brainstorm a plan to do something with the power of our television stations. Within a few hours those ideas grew into a multi-media campaign across Capitol Broadcasting Company‘s television and radio stations, websites and even our minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. Less than 24 hours later we had a plan to launch a campaign in the Steelers/Ravens game, on the premiere of Thursday Night Football on CBS.

Yes, we gave up thousands of dollars in ad inventory to run a PSA, two actually. A :60 in pre-game and this :90 in halftime:

Ironically, two account executives from WRAL and FOX 50 have been working on a domestic violence initiative for more than a year, bringing together a coalition of agencies working on this issue. Ray Rice gave us the opportunity to get people to listen.

The NFL game, which featured the Ravens (Ray Rice’s former team) and the Steelers, reached 147,866 households in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville NC market, averaging a 12.7 rating, 21 share.

9/11 and through 10am on 9/12 generated a total of 683 sessions to the eNOughNC.org website, 14 times the traffic of the the previous days. And, 90% of those sessions were new visitors.

On Twitter, the top 5 trending topics in Raleigh were ALL involved with eNOugh, domestic violence, and the messages we aired on television. And it all happened within about three hours.

We had national social media participation including Washington, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.

Results from :60 and :90 PSAs

Incredible social engagement.

This is the magic of twitter.

The dominant conversation in our market.

Three of the top five trending topics locally for four hours.

It took less than 24 hours to plan and execute this on air initiative across Capitol Broadcasting. Thursday, 9/18, we will host a phone bank in our studios staffed with knowledgeable experts to help people in crisis. We hope what we’re starting is a movement of outrage so loud, people can no longer turn away. That domestic and sexual violence can no longer be ignored.

What can you do?

If you’re in it, please reach out and let your community help you. The statewide North Carolina resource is enoughnc.org.

The national domestic violence hotline number is 1-800-799-SAFE.

If you see it or suspect it, please report it to local police.

Next, who’s ready to take on violence against women on television and in the movies? Sign me up.